Both indoor and outdoor grilling has continued to increase in popularity and, in the United States alone, it is estimated that 75% of US households have an outdoor cooking grill, which percentage further increases when indoor grilling is also taken into consideration. This increased popularity with grilling has led to more sophisticated cookers who are no longer satisfied with merely cooking over a bed of charcoal, but have moved into alternate food preparation techniques as in smoking food to prepare a delicious, succulent entrée.
Various conventional cookers of the smoker type exists and are typically of the outdoor type. The heat sources for cookers are based on various fuels as in gas, electric sources (e.g., electric resistance bars or infrared ceramic plates), charcoal, etc. An advantage of a smoker cooker is that a desirable smoked flavor is imparted to the food and the cooking technique is generally carried out at low to moderate heat levels. The smoking cooking techniques can also promote basting of the food as the juices from the food are caught and vaporized to baste the food to keep the food moist and prevent dehydration while the smoke flavor is imparted to the food. In addition, with the inclusion of a drip pan the juices can be captured and this drip pan can also hold fluids such as water which, in conjunction with the heat source, provide additional moisture in the food being smoked (e.g., meats, fish, etc.).
A typical conventional smoker assembly includes a housing containing one or more grill racks, the above noted pan positioned below the grill for dripping collection and vapor generation, a heat source, and a wood chip tray or rack, placed adjacent the heat source, to hold the smoke producing material (e.g., to generate the smoke there is typically used materials such as hickory, alder and mesquite wood in any one of a variety of forms as in chips, briquettes, and saw dust).
In addition, the prior art devices include stand alone smokers as seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,713,267; 4,417,748; 4,309,938; 4,020,322 and 3,776,127 as well as those that are designed as an added feature to a grill assembly as seen by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,891,498; 5,718,165; 5,167,183 and 4,770,157. Additionally, the prior art discloses a variety of structures for generating the smoke and providing the smoke to the food, including a generally common housing embodiment with both an internalized firebox (where the material is subjected to heat and initiates smoke generation) and a smoke/food contact chamber or smoker location (where the smoke is applied to the food) as seen from U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,857; those with an exterior fire box with direct attachment to a smoker housing as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,533; as well as those that are externally connected to the smoking location via a smoke conduit or the like as seen from U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,939.
The above noted references additionally illustrate ways of supplying the smoke generating material, with U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,939 featuring a supply stack of pellets which are fed via a motorized pusher assembly to the smoke generation location, U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,127 illustrating an upper domed cover which provides access to the interior of the smoker when cool, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,891,498 and 4,309,938 showing a door access arrangement and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,770,157 and 5,718,165 illustrating sliding insertion drawers.
Problems associated with the prior art includes difficulty in accessing the tray or smoke generating material support once cooking is initiated and the heat level rises to near or at the cooking temperature, the inability to easily re-supply the smoke generating source material without seriously disrupting an ongoing smoking process (e.g., an excessive release of built up smoke and/or heat), and/or a removal from the firebox housing of at least some of the currently utilized smoke generating material (which can also lead to ash material falling out on the cook and/or exterior environment), and/or the reliance on a highly complex supply assembly as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,939. In addition, due to the lower heat, longer time often associated with smoking food, when the fuel source is of the replenishment type (e.g., charcoal or wood fuel), the fuel itself often needs to be replenished during the course of a single food smoking operation. This need to resupply also leads to heat release from the firebox housing and the potential for release of smoke, ashes, etc.